Backside contamination inspection device

ABSTRACT

A system for simultaneously inspecting the frontsides and backsides of semiconductor wafers for defects is disclosed. The system rotates the semiconductor wafer while the frontside and backside surfaces are generally simultaneously optically scanned for defects. Rotation is induced by providing contact between the beveled edges of the semiconductor wafer and roller bearings rotationally driven by a motor. The wafer is supported in a tilted or semi-upright orientation such that support is provided by gravity. This tilted supporting orientation permits both the frontside and the backside of the wafer to be viewed simultaneously by a frontside inspection device and a backside inspection device.

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/101,400, filed on Sep. 22, 1998,pursuant to 35 U.S.C. Sections 111 and 119(e).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to contamination inspection forsemiconductor wafers and the like and in particular to a system whichinspects both the frontside and backside of a semiconductor waferwithout manual or automatic inversion of the wafer.

2. Description of the Related Art

Tools used in the semiconductor wafer manufacturing process mustperiodically be checked to determine whether they must be replaced orare still in usable condition. The condition of a tool is checked byinspecting wafers processed by that tool for defects. Bare wafers aretypically routed through the process tool with the frontside facing up,and wafer defects detected optically by illuminating portions of thewafer and measuring the amount of illuminating light scattered bydefects on the wafer surface.

Previously, systems which performed inspection of wafers did so in twodiscrete stages. First, the frontside of the wafer was scanned forcontamination caused by the process tool. If the defect rate on thefrontside of the wafer was acceptable, the wafer was then turned over toinspect the backside for further particle contamination and otherdefects. The process tool was considered usable if the defect rate onthe backside of the wafer was also acceptable.

Inspection of both sides of a wafer by these procedures accordinglyrequired time for inspection of one side, examination of the one side,inverting the wafer without excessively damaging the wafer, scanning thereverse side, and examining the results of the second side scan. Inaddition to this excessive amount of time required for examination, theprocess of flipping the semiconductor wafer had a tendency tocontaminate the edges of the wafer due to surface or edge contact with agripping device. In some processes, when the wafer was flipped over toinspect the backside, the front side of the wafer could be contaminatedby the flipping process. The resulting contamination of the frontside ofthe wafer tends to render the wafer unsuitable for further processing.Thus, all test wafers were usually scrapped after each inspection,reducing overall productivity and increasing pet unit cost.

Edge handling of wafers has also complicated the problem. As wafers tendto suffer from contamination or other degradation when handled by waferorientation systems, the handling of a wafer requires special care.Although previous wafer orientation systems have included multiple driverollers, radially inwardly-biased contact rollers, and a tiltablewafer-supporting table with an air-bearing mechanism, each of thesehandling methods have benefits and drawbacks. Systems without multipledrive rollers and radially inwardly-biased or spring-loaded contactrollers cannot maintain steady wafer rotation rate during the portion ofa cycle in which the drive roller is not in contact with the round edgeof the wafer because the drive roller loses traction along the waferedge.

In inspection equipment, it is important to maintain steady rates ofwafer rotation to avoid errors in defect detection, such as errors indetecting defects where none exist, or simply failing to detect defects.Previous systems which supported semiconductor wafers through directcontact with a solid surface present special problems during inspectionsince contact with the support surface may increase contamination ormove defects from one location to another in ways that render the waferunsuitable for future processing.

It is therefore an object of the current invention to provide a systemfor minimizing the time required for full inspection of both the frontside and back side of a wafer.

It is another object of the current invention to provide an arrangementwhich minimizes overall wafer contamination during the inspectionprocess, particularly when inspecting both front and back sides of thewafer.

It is a further object of the current invention to minimize edgehandling concerns, such as contamination, during the inspection of thefront side and back side of a wafer.

It is still a further object of the current invention to minimize thenumber of defects missed or falsely detected by the inspection system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus thatsimultaneously inspects the frontsides and backsides of semiconductorwafers for defects. The inventive system disclosed herein may also readtracking information imprinted on the backsides of the semiconductorwafers.

The invention rotates the semiconductor wafer while the frontside andbackside surfaces are generally simultaneously optically scanned fordefects. Rotation is induced by providing contact between the bevelededges of the semiconductor wafer and roller bearings rotationally drivenby a motor.

In the present invention, a semiconductor wafer is supported such thatthe semiconductor wafer lays flat during the inspection process. Thesurface is large enough to accommodate the wafer as well as the rollersfor rotating the wafer and the means for holding the wafer. The wafer ispreferably supported in a tilted or semi-upright orientation such thatsupport is provided by gravity. This tilted supporting orientationpermits both the frontside and the backside of the wafer to be viewedsimultaneously by a frontside inspection device and a backsideinspection device. The backside of the wafer for purposes of thisinvention is the side of the semiconductor wafer by which the wafer isbeing supported. Simultaneous dual-side inspection of the front side andback side of the wafer effectively doubles the throughput of inspectionequipment and eliminates the need to turn the semiconductor wafer overduring the inspection process, thereby reducing the opportunity for edgecontamination of the inspected wafer.

The wafer is rotated by multiple motor-driven roller bearings. Thesedrive rollers are positioned at the circumference of the wafer and areangled such that the roller pads contact the wafer only along thebeveled edge. This periphery positioning and rotation coupled withangular contact between the rollers and wafer edge and surface permitsinspection of the entire surface and significantly reduces the potentialfor contamination of the surface resulting from edge contact, or contactwith the roller pads.

The drive rollers are spaced apart such that at least one of the twodrive rollers spaced farthest apart contacts the round edge of the waferthroughout the rotation cycle. This constant contact feature ensuresthat the rotation rate of the wafer is suitably steady during defectinspection. Also, the steady rotation rate minimizes the number ofdefects missed or falsely detected by the inspection system.

The wafer rotation rate is such that roller contact does not damage thewafer edge. Furthermore, defects are not carried or transported from onepart of the edge to another. Moreover, the rate should be controlled soas to minimize slip between the roller and the wafer edge. The presentinvention is intended for use at wafer rotation rates on the order of400 revolutions per minute. Unlike previous systems, the presentinvention does not exhibit excessive vibration for defect inspectionpurposes at these rotation rates. The increased wafer rotation rate alsoincreases the throughput of inspection equipment.

The semiconductor wafer is held against the drive rollers by pressureusing a set of undriven roller bearings (contact rollers) oralternatively simply using gravitational force by tilting the wafer andinspection surface. This pressure ensures that the drive rollers holdtraction on the beveled wafer edge so that a steady rotation rate can bemaintained. All contact rollers thereby maintain contact with the edgeof the semiconductor wafer throughout the rotation cycle.

Prior to inspection, the system locates the edge registration feature,commonly called the “flat”. The system detects the specific position ofthe wafer using the edge registration feature either by measuring theposition of the contact rollers, or by connecting the contact rollers toswitches which are turned on when the contact rollers are touching aflat registration edge calibration switch. Once the flat registrationedge or notch is located, the system rotates the wafer to desiredorientations for inspection purpose by controlling the drive rotors.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent from a consideration of the following detaileddescription and from the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of theinvention in an unloaded state;

FIG. 2 presents a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of theinvention loaded with a semiconductor wafer to be inspected;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of theinvention with the semiconductor wafer loaded and the table surfacetilted in the scan position;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an arrangement including the loadedsemiconductor wafer, roller bearings and scan head elements;

FIG. 5 presents a perspective view of the scan head CCD detectorelements arranged in relation to the surface of the semiconductor waferduring backside inspection; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1-3 present various views of the invention in the loaded andunloaded states. From FIG. 1, the background contamination inspectiondevice is initially in its unloaded state, or without a semiconductorwafer located thereon. The semiconductor wafer is supported by asubstantially flat table surface 101. The substantially flat tablesurface 101 is equipped with an air-bearing mechanism 102 upon which thesemiconductor wafer may be floatably supported to eliminatecontamination of the backside by contact with the table surface 101. Thetable surface 101 is mounted to a fixed base 103 such that the tablesurface 101 can tilt about an axis 104 defined at a side edge of thetable surface 101. Four wafer load pins 105 a-105 d are mounted on thetable surface 101 such that they can retract and temporarily maintainthe wafer. The wafer load pins 105 a-d are located in a circular patternconcentric with the air-bearing mechanism 102 and semiconductor waferwhich is to be loaded. Furthermore, the wafer load pins 105 a-d arelocated proximate the round edge of the semiconductor wafer to beloaded.

Roller bearings 106 a-d are rotatably mounted on the table surface 101in an orientation substantially equivalent to the angle or axis 104about which the table surface 101 is tilted. Roller bearings 106 a-d arefurther arranged in a circular pattern having substantially the samecenter as the air-bearing mechanism 102 and the semiconductor wafer tobe loaded such that the radius of the smallest circle simultaneouslytangent to all of the roller bearings 106 a-d is equal in length to theradius of the semiconductor wafer to be loaded. As shown in FIG. 1,roller bearings 106 a and 106 b are driven by motors (not shown) and areseparated by such a distance that both cannot simultaneously contact theflat, or registration edge, in the semiconductor wafer. Thus rollerbearings 106 a-d provide continuous driving of the wafer when loadedthereon.

Prior to inspection, the system locates the edge registration feature,commonly called the “flat”. The system detects the specific position ofthe wafer using the edge registration feature either by measuring theposition of the contact rollers, or by connecting the contact rollers toswitches which are turned on when the contact rollers are touching aflat registration edge calibration switch. Once the flat registrationedge or notch is located, the system rotates the wafer to desiredorientations for inspection purpose by controlling the drive rotors.

The scan head 107 is situated within the table channel 108. Tablechannel 108 passes completely through the top and bottom surfaces oftable surface 101. The table channel 108 is symmetric about the radiusof the semiconductor wafer and is of such length that the scan head 107may travel from a position directly beneath the center of thesemiconductor to a position directly under the outer edge of the wafer.The preferred scan head is shown in greater detail in FIG. 4.

FIG. 2 shows the preferred embodiment of the invention having thesemiconductor wafer 201 loaded thereon. The semiconductor wafer 201 isfloatably supported by the air-bearing mechanism 202. During the loadingprocess, the wafer load pins 206 a-d hold and center the semiconductorwafer 201 over the air-bearing mechanism 202. Once the operator orsoftware determines that the semiconductor wafer 201 is centered overthe table surface 201, the wafer load pins 206 a-d are partiallyretracted and no longer contact the edge of the semiconductor wafer 201.

FIG. 3 shows the background contamination inspection device in scanposition. The table surface 101 in FIG. 3 has been tilted to apredetermined angle about axis 304. The driven roller bearings 306 a and306 b are continuously kept in contact with the wafer edge by thegravitational force acting on the semiconductor wafer 301 due totilting. The tilting of the semiconductor wafer 301 permits high speedrotation of the semiconductor wafer and minimizes the amount of pressureexerted on the edge of the wafer 301 while still ensuring that at leastone drive roller maintains contact and traction along the edge of thewafer throughout the wafer rotation cycle. Edge contact is thereforeminimized since no undriven contact rollers are needed.

The wafer loading pins 305 a-d are fully retracted when the invention isin the scan position and thus only contact the semiconductor waferduring, the loading phase of the inspection. The wafer loading pins 305a-d do not contact the wafer during rotation or while the system is inthe inspection phase.

Once the semiconductor wafer 301 has been loaded onto the table surface301, the wafer loading pins 305 a-d are retracted, the table surface 301tilted as shown in FIG. 3, and the drive rollers 306 a and 306 b areturned to rotate the semiconductor wafer 301. The semiconductor wafer301 is rotated by the motor (not shown) turning the drive rollers 306 aand 306 b. Positioned within the table surface 301 is the scan head 307(not shown) which traverses in a linear manner to scan the backside ofthe semiconductor wafer 301, i.e. the side of the wafer adjacent to thetable surface 301. The scan head 307 is positioned within the tablesurface channel 308 such that the orientation of the scan head 307 doesnot change relative to the semiconductor wafer 301 as the table surface301 is tilted to the position shown in FIG. 3. During rotation of thetable surface 301, the scan head 307 translates linearly within tablesurface channel 308 in a parallel orientation with respect to the bottomsurface of the semiconductor wafer 301. While the semiconductor wafer301 rotates adjacent to the wafer table 301 using drive rollers 306 aand 306 b, the scan head 307 translates within the table surface channel308, moving from the edge of the semiconductor wafer 301 to the centerthereof, or vice versa.

Various tilting angles may be employed in the current system while stillwithin the scope of the present invention. The current desired tiltingangle for the table surface is 45 degrees, but higher angles may be usedsuccessfully depending on the speed of the rotation of the semiconductorwafer 301 and the size and particularly weight of the wafer 301. Forexample, an excessively high angle between the table surface 301 and thehorizontal may cause the wafer 301 to fall away from the table surface,while a relatively small angle between the table surface 301 and thehorizontal may cause the wafer 301 to lose contact with the driverollers 306 a and 306 b. It is therefore preferable to maintain theangle of tilt within the range of 15 degrees from horizontal to 75degrees from horizontal.

FIG. 4 illustrates the backside inspection process. Backside inspectionis preferably performed using the double-dark field method. Rollerbearings 404 are rotated by a drive motor (not shown) to induce rotationof the semiconductor wafer 401. The roller bearings 404 illustrated inFIG. 4 represent an alternate orientation of the roller bearings fromthose shown in FIGS. 1-3. The roller bearings 404 of FIG. 4 and theundriven roller bearings 405 may be originally oriented away from thetable surface (not shown) for purposes of loading the wafer 401 onto thetable surface, and then the driven and undriven roller bearings may berepositioned adjacent the wafer 401 to provide sufficient but notexcessive contact between the bearings 404 and 405 and the wafer 401.The orientation of the elements illustrated in FIG. 4 contemplates ahorizontal and untilted arrangement of the wafer and bearings, but theoptical elements of FIG. 4 may be used in the tilted orientation of theinvention illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.

In FIG. 4, the wafer 401 maintains contact with both the driven rollerbearings 404 and the undriven roller bearings 405. During operation, assemiconductor wafer 401 rotates, the scan head 407 (not shown),including laser illuminator 402 and sensor 403, travels along the tablesurface channel (not shown) in close proximity to the surface beingscanned. The sensor 403 may include one or more CCD detector elements.The laser illuminator 402 projects an elongated illuminating beam ontoan area roughly 50 μm×10 mm in size, illustrated by the illuminatedpatch 406 in FIG. 4, on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 401 at anon-normal angle of incidence.

FIG. 5 shows the arrangement of the CCD detector elements relative tothe semiconductor wafer 501. The illuminator (not shown) projectscollimated beam 502 through cylindrical lens 503 onto illuminated patch504 on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 501. CCD detector elements505 are symmetrically located on either side of and parallel to theincident plane (the plane formed by the intersection of the wafersurface normal and the illumination path). The CCD detector elements 505are linear and produce a serial read-out which corresponds to the amountof scattered light received by the detector. This output is used todetermine whether a defect exists at the particular section of the waferbeing examined. Using this information, the system determines whetherthe wafer 501 may be used in further processing. If the systemdetermines that the wafer 501 is not usable, the process tool must bereplaced and the wafer 501 is scrapped. If the wafer 501 is usable, thedefect location information for the particular wafer is stored with itstracking number. The wafer 501 is then placed back in the processingstream and the process tool is not replaced.

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternate, stand-alone embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, the table surface 601 is affixed to base603. Base 603 is mounted to support legs 602 such that the base 603 maybe rotated about axis 604. Scan head 607 is fixedly mounted to arm 605,and arm 605 is attached to turning screw 606. Turning screw 606 isrotationally coupled to a motor (not shown).

Rotation of turning screw 606 causes arm 605 and scan head 607 to movelaterally along the table surface channel 608, parallel to the backsideof semiconductor wafer 611 in its tilted state (as shown) or untiltedstate. This motion of the scan head 607 permits scanning of the backside of the semiconductor wafer 611. The semiconductor wafer 611 isrotated by contact with roller bearings 609 which are driven by a motor(not shown). The semiconductor wafer 611 also maintains contact withroller bearing 610 (second roller bearing not shown), which is undriven.The contact with undriven roller bearing 610 is due to gravitationalforce being exerted on the semiconductor wafer 611. Thus the orientationof the wafer, as shown, is in constant contact with the rollers and maybe inspected on both front and back sides.

While the invention has been described in connection with specificembodiments thereof, it will be understood that the invention is capableof further modifications. This application is intended to cover anyvariations, uses or adaptations of the invention following, in general,the principles of the invention, and including such departures from thepresent disclosure as come within known and customary practice withinthe art to which the invention pertains.

1-17. (canceled)
 18. A method for inspecting a specimen having a frontside and a back side, comprising: positioning the specimen at an anglematerially differing from a horizontal angle; rotating the specimen; andsimultaneously inspecting both the front side and the back side of thespecimen while rotating the specimen.
 19. The method of claim 18,wherein said positioning occurs on a perforated surface oriented at theangle materially differing from a horizontal angle.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the specimen rests on and is rotated by a plurality ofrollers.
 21. The method of claim 19, wherein a back side inspectiondevice inspects the back side of the specimen through a perforation inthe perforated surface.
 22. The method of claim 18, wherein the specimencomprises a semiconductor wafer.
 23. The method of claim 18, whereininspecting the back side of the specimen comprises passing a back sideinspection device substantially parallel to the backside of the specimenand inspecting the back side through a maintaining surface holding thespecimen.
 24. An apparatus comprising: a surface configured to maintaina specimen at a substantially horizontal angle in a first orientationand at at least one additional angle substantially differing fromhorizontal; at least one rotational element positioned proximate thesurface configured to rotate the specimen; and a backside inspectiondevice configured to inspect a back side of the specimen through anopening in the surface.
 25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein thesurface is attached to a base by a hinged element.
 26. The apparatus ofclaim 24 wherein the at least one rotational element comprises aplurality of rollers that maintain and rotate the specimen for purposesof front side and back side specimen inspection.
 27. The apparatus ofclaim 24, wherein the surface has an opening therein.
 28. The apparatusof claim 27, further comprising a first optical inspection devicearranged to substantially traverse within the opening of the surface andinspect a back side of the specimen.
 29. The apparatus of claim 24,wherein the specimen is floatably supported on the surface by an airbearing mechanism.
 30. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the at leastone rotational element comprises at least one driven element, andwherein the specimen also contacts undriven elements.
 31. The apparatusof claim 28, further comprising a second optical inspection deviceconfigured to inspect a front side of the specimen.
 32. The apparatus ofclaim 24, wherein the specimen comprises a semiconductor wafer.
 33. Anapparatus comprising: means for tilting a specimen to an anglematerially different from a substantially horizontal angle; means forrotating the specimen; and means for simultaneously inspecting a frontside and a back side of the specimen while being rotated by the rotatingmeans.
 34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the means for tiltingcomprises a hinged device having a substantially flat perforatedsurface.
 35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the means for rotatingare attached to the means for tilting.
 36. The apparatus of claim 33,wherein the means for simultaneously inspecting comprise a backsideinspection device configured to inspect a back side of the specimenthrough the means for tilting.
 37. The apparatus of claim 33, whereinthe specimen comprises a semiconductor wafer.